


It All Started with a Cosplay

by minusxero



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - No Bending, Angst, Coming Out, Conventions, Cosplay, Dorks, F/F, F/M, Freeform, Friends to Lovers, Geeks, Manga & Anime, Musical References, Slice of Life, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Triggers, like really slow burn, nerds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-17 02:06:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4648173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minusxero/pseuds/minusxero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Korra is having a fantastic time at an anime convention when she hears someone shout out her cosplay. </p><p>The moment she turned to find that voice, everything changed. This is the story of that convention and everything that happened after. </p><p>This is Modern AU, no bending Slice of Life fic. There will be plenty of pop culture/nerd/song references, a fair amount of humor and angst (although not at the same time), and a bit of everything. Kinda like life. This is (very, very, VERY loosely) based on/inspired by real life events.</p><p>It will be a very slow burn but I hope you'll stick around for the ride!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Encounter of the Nerd Kind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's the best way to get around a writer's block? Start something new, apparently.
> 
> This is slightly based on a true story.

_"Doctor! Doctor! DOCTOOOOOOOR!"_

Korra sighed as she looked to her friends with apologetic eyes. _I'm sorry_ , she mouthed. Korra turned around and smiled, looking at the source of the voice.

The girl who had shouted was holding a sonic screwdriver in one hand, and waving with the other. She was wearing a light pink button-up shirt with red overalls and a red bowtie. This went with her brown slacks and black boots. Draped across her shoulders was a brown tweed jacket with patches on the elbows. So, Eleventh Doctor then. She could deal. The girl had on glasses and her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail and adorned with a red fez.[1]

Korra, clad in a blue pinstripe suit, Chuck Taylors, red tie and 3D glasses paced over to the slightly taller girl.[2] "Matt Smith," she commented. "Not my favorite, but he'll do."

The girl cosplaying the Eleventh Doctor crinkled her nose. "Hey, he's better than TENNANT," she responded, as she mimed scanning Korra with her sonic screwdriver. The girl made an elaborate show of extending the the screwdriver and raising it to eye level, pretending to check the readings.

Korra smirked. "Oh whatever, you're just jealous of my spot-on hair." Her hair was indeed spot-on. Although Korra had wanted to cut her hair short, the barber she met with may have misunderstood the meaning of "boy-cut."

"Yeah well, I'm too attached to my hair to chop it down to that coiffed Matt Smith do," the girl countered.

"How about the Eccleston?" Korra asked innocently. "I bet you could pull off the Eccleston."

"That's even worse!" the green-eyed girl laughed. "Although I admit, that'd be pretty-"

"Fantastic!" the two said at the same time.

Korra and the Eleventh Doctor cosplayer laughed at the exchange. "I'm so glad I saw you," the girl said. "I was afraid I'd be the only Whovian here."

Korra looked dumbfounded. "Seriously? There are like, twenty of them running around. There's no way you could've missed them."

The girl sighed. "Yeah, I just got here." She instantly brightened up. "Anyways, your cosplay is fantastic!"

The water tribe girl smiled. "Thanks, I've always been a sucker for blue."

"KORRA, WE GOTTA GO! THE PANEL STARTS IN FIVE MINUTES!" Bolin shouted from across the foyer.

"I KNOW, I'LL BE THERE IN A SECOND!" Korra turned back sheepishly. "Sorry, my friends are waiting. The Team Four Star panel's on the other side of the hotel." She extended a hand. "Nice to meet you!"

The fezzed girl took the hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you too, see you around!"

And with that, Korra turned towards where Bolin shouted and yelled out "Allons-y!" before breaking into a dead sprint.

* * *

"Ugh, this line is so long!" Bolin whined.

The line was indeed long, Korra observed. It snaked from the entrance to the presentation room into a zig-zag of epic proportions. Like, the Snake Way of convention lines.

 _Note to self_ , Korra thought. _Goku cosplay next year._

_"Tarzan! Jane! Can I get a picture?"_

Tarzan and Jane were, respectively, Bolin and Opal. It wasn't often that Bolin had an excuse to show off his impressive muscles, and so he took every chance he could get. Opal had a picture perfect Jane costume, complete with an umbrella that she twirled impatiently while in line.[3] Everyone seemed to think she was Mary Poppins. It was a very sad affair.

"Sure thing!" Bolin exclaimed, as he stepped out of line with Opal in tow. As he got into the open space, his back hunched and he started walking on all fours. Opal giggled and when Bolin came to a stop, sat down on his shoulder, umbrella in one hand, open book in another. The bystander took a few pictures and gave a thumbs up, at which point Bolin stood up, causing Opal to fall into his arms. She squealed and laughed as he carried her back to the line. Korra was grinning from ear to ear as they came back.

Mako, who had cosplayed Spike Spiegel[4], saw the look and groaned. "I know that look..." he muttered. He took a swig from his water bottle, which was decidedly lacking in water and had some mysterious, possibly alcoholic, tan liquid inside.

"CAUSE YOU'LL BE IIIIIN MY HEART," Korra sang at the top of her lungs, then stopped to listen to the crowd, who had gone silent at the loud exclamation.

Korra, Bolin, and Opal frowned. "Boo," Bolin said.

"YES YOU'LL BE IIIIN MY HEART," yelled a male voice from across the line.

"FROM THIS DAY ON," a feminine voice responded elsewhere.

"NOW AND FOREVER MORE." a couple of voices completed.

The Krew looked at each other. They all had ecstatic grins, even Mako.

"YOU'LL BE IN MY HEART," they all sang, and slowly everyone else in line began joining in. 

* * *

 A few hours later, the four were sitting on some couches in the mezzanine.

Opal yawned. "I think it's time to crash for the night," she slurred. Bolin was already lightly snoring on her shoulder.

"I'm gonna go smoke before we turn in," Mako replied, as he stood up and stretched. "Jesus, cons take a lot out of you."

Korra scoffed. "That's what happens when it's your first time." She waggled her eyebrows. "How does it feel to be devirginized?"

The boy dressed as Spike turned a shade of red. "Shut up," he muttered as he started off towards the stairs.

Korra, who had maybe had a few too many energy drinks, jumped up. "Hey, wait for me!" and ran after Mako.

"Don't worry," Opal murmured tiredly to no one in particular. "We'll still be here." She adjusted herself on the couch and placed her hand in Bolin's before shutting her eyes.

* * *

 Outside, Mako had leaned up against a wall and pulled out a cigarette and zippo. He did some tricks with his lighter before finally getting around to lighting his cigarette and inhaled deeply. As he blew out the smoke, there was a sound of a camera shutter.

"That's the most Spike Spiegel moment I've ever seen," Korra said, as she put away her phone. She paced over and took a spot next to her friend. "Pony up, _cowboy_."

Mako smirked as he pulled out his pack and opened it. Korra reached in and took one, then borrowed his lighter to set it aflame. She took a deep drag and exhaled.

This is nice, she thought. "This is nice," she said aloud.

Mako gave a quick glance and nodded. "Yeah," he said.

"We're cool, right?"

"What do you mean?"

Korra shrugged and tapped on her cigarette, freeing some ash from the tip. "You know, us." She took another drag. "Things could've been weird. But I'm glad you're here. The con wouldn't have been the same without you." Korra snorted. "I think it's the most fun I've seen Bolin have at one of these things in years."

Mako hummed in response, his eyes closed. "That was months ago," he replied. "And we were friends long before we were, you know." He did some random movements with his cigarette hand, the smoke making faint patterns in the light. "It's been pretty easy to slip back into friends."

"That's good," Korra agreed. "I do cherish you as a friend. Probably my best friend, actually. Despite everything." The girl looked down at her feet. "Thanks."

"It's not a problem."

The two spent the rest of the smoke break in relative silence. They'd point out a few cool cosplays here and there, but aside from that, there wasn't much conversation.

Mako took a final drag of his cigarette and put it out on the heel of his shoe. He turned to his ex, no, his best friend. "Ready to head in?"

Korra still had a few more drags in her cigarette left. "Nah," she replied. "The night is young, and I'm over-caffeinated. Gonna explore for a bit more. No, don't worry. I have a room key. Although if you could, you know, gimme another cigarette, that'd be nice.

Mako chuckled and pulled his pack out again. He removed two from the box and gave them to Korra. "Use'em wisely," he warned. Then he turned back towards the doors leading inside with his hands clasped behind his head. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Yes, sir, Mako sir!" Korra yelled back, before snickering to herself.

The night really was young. It was only like what, one o'clock? There were plenty of people still socializing and walking around the convention. _I'm sure I could find something to do_ , Korra reasoned to herself.

"Doctor!"

Korra looked out and saw the girl from earlier, sitting in the lawn with a bunch of other people. She had a cigarette in one hand and a can in the other. Korra smiled and waved, then made her way over to the circle.

"Everyone," the girl said, "this is Carol. She's the Doctor. Doctor Carol, this is everyone." The four other people in the circle each said their hellos.

"It's Korra, by the way," Korra replied, placing one of Mako's cigarettes between her lips. "And I didn't get your name."

The girl giggled and adjusted her bowtie. "Carol, Korra, close enough." She handed Korra a lighter. "And it's Asami."

Korra lit up her smoke. "Nice to meet you again, Asami. So what's going on here?"

Asami lit up - her face lit up, rather. "How do you feel about Disney and Four Loko?"

Korra couldn't help scrunch up her face at the comment. Asami's face paled a bit at this. "Oh no," Korra said quickly, "I LOVE Disney. But Four Loko has sucked since they stopped putting caffeine in them."

"Aaaaaah," the green-eyed girl replied, a smile creeping back onto her face. "Well what if I told you that I had several cans of the caffeinated kind?"

"I'd think you were magic," Korra responded, eyeing the open can in Asami's hand. "How did you manage that? And can I have one?"

Asami laughed. "I'm a time traveler," she said in a barely acceptable English accent. "And yes you can, but you have to earn it."

"How?"

The girl dressed as the Eleventh Doctor pulled out her phone and started scrolling. She smiled a wicked smile and clicked on a song. Then she began singing.

"I can see what's happening," she started.

Korra laughed. "WHAT?!" she replied.

"And they don't have a clue!"

"Who?!"

"They'll fall in love and heeeeeere's the bottom line..."

"Our trio's down to two!" Asami grinned, passing Korra an unopened can of Four Loko.

Korra smiled back. "Oh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] Korra is cosplaying the Tenth Doctor, [David Tennant](http://i.imgur.com/uwmkgIq.jpg).  
> [2]Asami is cosplaying the Eleventh Doctor, [Matt Smith](http://i.imgur.com/zLZmsLr.jpg).  
> [3]Bolin and Opal are [Tarzan and Jane](http://i.imgur.com/HbqMnKT.jpg) from the Disney movie.  
> [4]Mako is [Spike Spiegel](http://i.imgur.com/wNYEqGV.gif) from Cowboy Bebop.
> 
> Songs referenced:  
> You'll Be in My Heart by Phil Collins from Tarzan  
> Can You Feel the Love Tonight? from The Lion King
> 
> The name of the chapter is a rip on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.


	2. Early Morning Food Runs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Accidentally posted a beta version of this chapter, revised! Sorry if you read the old one!

"Okay," Korra sighed with a grimace on her face. "I may have been looking at Four Loko with rose-tinted glasses."

The two remaining late-night con-goers burst out laughing. It was five in the morning and everyone else had slowly gone to sleep. That left Korra, Asami, and a decent guy named Tahno (who was cosplaying a hipster Link from Legend of Zelda[1]) to spend the rest of the night? Morning? Might? Norning? Roaming the halls of the convention.

Asami adjusted her glasses with the knuckle of her index finger and grinned. "Is this more than you bargained for yet?"

The early morning hours had been filled with Disney until they had hit the limit of how many Disney songs the group collectively knew. It had then devolved into "sing anything," which had further devolved into "sing lyrics relevant to the conversation."

"Blame it on the al-al-al-al-al-alcohol," Tahno joined in, bumping Korra at the hip. Korra smiled and looked down at her feet.

 _Those two seem to be getting along swimmingly_ , Asami thought. The night had turned out so much better than she had hoped. Making it to the Con so late meant everyone else had already sorted out into their own little social groups and - even worse - the hotel was completely booked. Every room, every suite. Which made late night socializing less of a decision and more of a necessity.

She thought back on the singing and bonding over the past few hours and smiled herself. _Worth it_.

Korra jumped ahead and turned to Asami and Tahno. "Guys," she said. "I have a GREAT idea." As she finished her sentence, Korra's stomach growled quite audibly.

Tahno snorted and Asami giggled. "Let me guess," Asami pondered, finger tapping her chin in thought. "You want to, oh, maybe go outside and sing some more?"

"Do a bunch of push-ups?" Tahno suggested.

"Volunteer at the blood drive?" Asami countered.

"Believe in the me who believes in you?" Tahno shot back.

"ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH![2]" Korra exclaimed, striking a ridiculous pose. Once the laughter had died down, Korra sighed. "No seriously, we should get food."

"Hmmm," Tahno thought. "There's a Denny's like a half-mile from here."

Korra groaned. "That's so faaaaaaaar. I'm not walking that far. And I'm in the paid parking. If I drive, I'll have to pay another fee and shit. Did you drive, Tahno?"

Hipster Link shook his head. "I rode here with my brother. That bastard is currently sleeping in the room."

"I can drive us," Asami suggested. "I'm good for it."

* * *

Asami was, Korra decided, not good for it. Screeching tires pushed against the pavement and sent the Nissan Skyline flying at breakneck speeds. Korra had braced herself against the glove compartment of the car, whereas Tahno had his head covered and between his legs. Asami's laugh was pure unadulterated joy as she drifted the u-turn underneath the highway overpass at 30mph. _Eat my dust Takumi Fujiwara_[3] , thought Asami.

"CRAZY WOMAN, STOP THE VEHICLE THIS INSTANT!" Tahno screamed from the back seat. Korra would've agreed if a frog the size of Manhattan hadn't been caught in her throat. Instead she just stared wide-eyed at the road, counting the seconds until they were at the restaurant.

Ten seconds was the official count, and when Asami popped the emergency brake and turned the ignition off, Korra and Tahno were immediately out of the car, kissing the pavement.

"Oh sweet mama Jesus, I swear I'll start going to church more often-"  
"Do I have to sacrifice firstborns to become immune to this? Because I will-"  
"Every Sunday, Wednesday, and even Friday if need be-"  
"My uncle raises goats, will those do?"

"Oh shush you two," Asami laughed. "We got here in one piece."

"Speak for yourself," Tahno muttered, as he continued kissing the ground.

A spark lit in Asami's eyes. "And you know like 50% of the surface area of parking lots is old spit-out gum that's been run over a million times, right?"

That stopped the kissing immediately. Korra in particular wiped at her lips furiously with her palm then, as if disgusted by the thought, cleaned her palm on Tahno's flannel shirt.

"Hey!" Tahno scowled.

"You can clean it up later," Korra laughed. "Food now."

* * *

 "I apologize, but you've got to be kidding me," Asami sputtered.

"I'm sorry ma'am," the waiter replied.

"But that's fucking ridiculous! What the hell can we order then?" Tahno demanded. The waiter paled at the rudeness.

"Well sir, you can still get the chicken-fried steak, although it won't come with eggs-"

"Wow," Asami whispered into Korra's ear. "Tahno's kinda rude."

Korra shrugged. "Maybe he's just cranky. He's been up all night just like us and drinking and almost died on the way here-"

"Not even a little bit died," Asami bit back.

"Almost died twice and a half AND it's a Denny's that's out of eggs. I can understand being mad."

The waiter turned to Korra. "And what will you be having?"

Korra glanced at Tahno. "What did you end up getting?"

The boy sulked. "Chicken-fried steak. Only."

"Ah," Korra replied. She sat for a moment and looked at the menu. "Three chicken-fried steaks, please."

The green-eyed girl laughed. "I'm not getting chicken-fried steak, Kor."

"Well, good for you," Korra said as she stuck out her tongue. "And don't call me Kor, my ex did that and I hated it."

Asami looked confused. "...then why did you say three chicken-fried steaks?"

"Your ex?" Tahno questioned.

"Oh, that's MY order," Korra announced proudly, her chest puffed out a little.

"Oh? Oh. OH. OOOOOOOH," Asami vocalized.

"That's what she said," Tahno snickered.

"I'll just get a coffee, thanks," Asami told the waiter, who hustled off to the kitchen.

Korra immediately stood up and stretched, yawning audibly. She looked at her newfound friends. "Smoke break?"

Asami nodded and also got up. Tahno shook his head. "I'll watch the table," he responded.

So the two girls stepped out into the parking lot. Asami pulled out two cigarettes and lit them both, handing one to Korra, who thanked her profusely.

They sat on the curb in silence for a few moments, before Asami grinned and poked Korra in the cheek. "So, Tahno's a pretty nice guy, huh?"

"Oh, is he?" Korra said, rubbing the back of her neck. "He is. Isn't he? Yeah, he's pretty okay. Why do you ask? Did he say something?" Her eyes widened then, just as quickly, narrowed in suspicion. "Are you spying on me?"

The raven-haired girl guffawed loudly. "No, I just notice things. He seemed awfully eager to tease you, poke you, bump into you, or just touch you in any way whenever he could."

Korra tilted her head to the side. _Like a puppy_ , Asami noted. "What does that mean?" She asked. "I know lots of guys who do that. Like, half the guys I know are like that around me."

Asami's grin only got bigger. "And none of them have, oh say, asked you out or anything?"

The Water Tribe girl looked up into the sky in thought, taking a drag of her cigarette. "No. They usually just want to grab something to eat. Or invite me to parties. Or play video games. Or marathon anime. Or go to the movies. Or..." Comprehension dawned on Korra's face. "Noooooo."

Trying to hold back her laughter, Asami could only nod.

"No. No way. No. Nononono."

She couldn't hold it in any longer. Asami started laughing uncontrollably.

"Hey, quit it!" Korra exclaimed, her cheeks red in embarrassment. "I hang out with guys all the time, it's hard to notice these things."

Asami's cheeks were also red, but more out of laughter than anything. She nudged Korra's shoulder with her own. "You're going to be re-evaluating every interaction you've ever had from now on. I bet you've had some crushes that were actually into you."

Korra put her head into her hands and whined. Asami rubbed at the top of her back with her free hand. "So, you think Tahno likes me?" she said, her voice muffled by her hands.

Asami gave a short laugh again. "Oh, I don't THINK he does. I'll bet he tries to get your number by the end of breakfast."

At the mention of food, Korra's stomach growled loudly enough to echo in the parking lot.

"I think my stomach has the right idea," Korra muttered, her face finally uncovered. "I'm about done with my smoke, ready to go in?"

As if on cue, Asami felt her pocket vibrate. She fished out her phone and took another drag. "I'll be there in a second," she replied, unlocking her screen. "Gotta give you two lovebirds some space." Asami proceeded to rub the top of Korra's head like a puppy. "Go get'em, tiger!"

A groan. "I hate you," Korra said as she put out her cigarette and opened the door to the restaurant.

"You love me!" Asami yelled back, eyes still on her phone.

 **HIROSHI (10:06PM):** Honey where are you  
**MISSED CALL FROM HIROSHI 10:15PM**  
**MISSED CALL FROM HIROSHI 10:22PM**  
**MISSED CALL FROM HIROSHI 11:30PM**  
**HIROSHI (1:00AM):** It's 1AM and you're still not home, please call  
**MISSED CALL FROM HIROSHI 01:04AM**  
**MISSED CALL FROM HIROSHI 05:24AM**  
**HIROSHI (5:31AM):** It's 5:30 and still gone. I'm going to work. We will talk when I get home.

Asami sighed, and locked her phone back up before placing it back in her pocket. With a toss of her cigarette, she went back inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] Hipster Link looks a little something like [this.](http://i.imgur.com/hChDC2F.jpg)  
> [2]Tahno and Korra are referencing the anime Gurren Lagann.  
> [3]Takumi Fujiwara is the name of the protagonist from the car anime Initial D. [This song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCiDuy4mrWU) is what I imagine is playing in Asami's car during this short sequence.
> 
> Songs quoted or referenced:  
> Sugar We're Going Down by Fall Out Boy  
> Blame It (On the Alcohol) by Jamie Foxx
> 
> Any feedback is appreciated!


	3. Meet the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami meets the rest of the Krew.

_"Tahno, get your ass in gear and let's go!"_

They were standing outside the hotel now, with exactly zero hours of sleep in their system and a whole bunch of chicken-fried steak in their bellies. Tahno had (finally) worked up the courage to ask Korra for her number and Korra had been more than happy to supply it. Asami smiled as she lit up another cigarette in the smoking area, watching the two awkwardly interact.

Tahno was having to leave now at the behest of his older brother, and farewells were being exchanged between the group (mostly Korra and Tahno). When the boy had finally gotten into the car, he rolled the window down for a final wave of goodbye when Korra impulsively leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Asami smiled at that, and the smile turned into a full-blown guffaw as Tahno turned a very tomato shade of red as the car left.

Korra turned on her heel and clasped her hands behind her back, skipping towards the bench Asami was sitting on.

"Soooo," Asami drawled. " _That's_ a thing."

"Shut up," Korra grumbled. Her voice was angry, but the dopey grin on her face said otherwise. She reached for Asami's hand and snatched the cigarette for herself. The two traded the cigarette off every two drags. As they reached the end of the cigarette, Korra took a victorious drag and exhaled. "Best. Con. Ever!" she shouted.

The girl dressed as the Eleventh Doctor smirked. "I wouldn't say that yet. You know he doesn't smoke right? You might have to quit."

"Well he's not here is he?" Korra asked, taking another drag. "I'M A SMOKER AND YOU'VE GOTTA DEAL WITH IT!" she yelled in the general direction of Tahno's ride.

Asami laughed. "You're also drunk still," she noted. "We should probably get you in a bed."

"Yaaaaaaaas," Korra agreed. "Let's go to my room. It's got two beds so I can sleep in two beds." She put out the cigarette and stood up. "C'mon _Edamame_ , I know you don't have a room. You can crash with us!"

And so Korra led Asami to her hotel room on the fifth floor. She fumbled with her room key a bit before finally getting the door to open.

Inside, Mako and Bolin were busy getting their costumes on. Mako was wearing white jeans and black Chuck Taylors, with no shirt on. On top of the bed next to him was a white wig and a white t-shirt with 3 stripes going from the neck of the shirt to the end of the sleeve along with the number 3 drawn onto the front.

Bolin was slicking his hair back while checking his reflection in the window. He was wearing aviators and a black shirt and black jeans. Opal was at the bathroom sink, wearing similar attire and putting on make-up.

They all stopped in their tracks and looked at Korra.

"What." Mako said flatly.

"What?" Korra responded.

Bolin, Opal, and Mako all looked at each other, then back at Korra. "It's like, 8 in the morning," Mako answered in awe.

Korra stared blankly. "Yeah, so?"

"It's 8 in the morning," Opal repeated, "and you're AWAKE."

"You're awake and you're KORRA," Bolin elaborated.

"Korra," Mako repeated.

"8 in the morning."

"AWAKE."

Bolin had marched up to the door and put on a very angry glare, which was lost on everyone due to his aviators. Regardless, he eyed Asami up and down warily. "Who are you, and what have you done with Korra?"

Asami regarded her interrogator coolly. "I'm Asami," she said, extending her hand out in greeting, "and Four Loko."

Bolin stared at Asami's face. Then at her hand. Then at Asami's face. Without breaking eye contact, he took her hand and shook it once. "Nice to meet you," he said curtly, a deadly glare still in his eye. "But be warned," he continued, bringing his free hand up to point at her. " _I'm watching you_. One wrong move and," Bolin took his pointing finger and brought it to his neck.

Opal rolled her eyes. "Shut up Bolin and let them in." She glanced at the pair briefly before getting back to her eyeliner. "I'm Opal, by the way. Doofball is Bolin, and shirtless man is-"

"Mako," finished the one in question, reaching his hand out in greeting. "Sorry for having to babysit Kor, I know how rough that can be."

Asami shook her head, as she sat on the foot of one of the beds while Korra wordlessly collapsed on the other. "It's no problem. We had a lot of fun, actually." Then her sleep-addled brain kicked into gear. "Wait, did you just call her _Kor_?"

The boy looked quizzically at Asami. "Yeaaaah," he replied slowly. "I've called her that since we were like five. Why?"

A tiny smirk pulled at Asami's cheeks. "Oh, no reason." She looked around the room at the three getting ready. "So what are you cosplaying as?"

"OOOOOOH, I got this!" Bolin rushed over and jumped on the bed, causing Asami to laugh at the boy's sudden shift in mood. She watched him create a finger gun and pose authoritatively. "You got 3 guesses."

The girl took note of everyone else's costume, and after a few seconds finally figured it out. But that wasn't going to be any fun. "Oh I know," she exclaimed. "You're going as Charlie's Angels!"

Opal giggled as Bolin visibly deflated. "That's not it at all," he moaned.

"Well you could've fooled me, with your dramatic stance and your, um, shirtless friend," Asami pointed out.

"Brother," Bolin corrected. "OLDER brother. You got two guesses left, by the way."

"Oh I knew what it was from the beginning," Asami smirked. She pointed at Mako. "You're Todd the Vegan from Scott Pilgrim. And the couple here are the Vegan Police."[1]

"Got it," Mako confirmed.

"Oh, we're not together," Opal quickly corrected.

Bolin nodded. "Yeah right? Me and Opal? Psssh. That'd be weird. _Totally_ weird. Like," Bolin put on a dramatic face, " _Oh Opal, I've been friends with you for as long as I can remember and we totally used to have sleepovers all the time and now I'm developing feelings for you, we should go out sometime!_ Haha, yeah. That'd be totally weird. Weiiiiiird."

 _So_ , Asami thought, as she watched Opal try to hide her blush, _it's a whole group of romantically dense friends. THIS should be fun._

But as she watched the group interact, it all felt very natural. Bolin, while overdramatic, was very much a caring and inclusive person. He had already, for instance, started trying to get Asami to be their Ramona Flowers (especially with their current Ramona passed out on the bed). Opal was like the younger sister of the group that everybody loved. And Mako, he always had this look of irritation on his face but Asami could see he was secretly enjoying every antic.

Asami had found a great room to crash in for the weekend. The next few days were bound to be filled with adventure.

"So, are you going to join us?" Mako asked after getting his wig on just right.

"Asamiiiii we need a Ramona Flowers otherwise NOBODY is going to know who we are!" Bolin added, putting on his best puppy eyes.

Opal gently pat Bolin on his cheek. "Don't go forcing the newbie into something she doesn't want to do," she chided. Though then she looked up at Asami as well. "But it'd be nice to have a complete group cosplay," the girl added innocently.

Asami looked at Korra, who had curled into the fetal position on the bed and was slightly drooling. She smiled. "I mean, I don't know if I can fit into her clothes, but if you're okay with it-"

Opal and Bolin cheered out loud. Mako cracked a smile.

"C'mon, let's get you changed. Don't worry, you're not that much taller than Korra," Opal said excitedly, as she grabbed Asami's wrists and pulled her off the bed.

"Mmm, I'm not that short, mom," Korra murmured in her sleep, as she turned over to face the wall.

"Oh, we're SO using that against her later," Bolin chuckled.

The boys sat down in the living area while Opal helped Asami change.

"Dude," whispered Bolin. "She's pretty cute."

"Can it, doofus."

Bolin leaned in a bit closer. "And she obviously likes Doctor Who."

"Dude. Stop."

A teensy bit closer. "And she walked in on you shirtless and didn't bat an eye."

"Bolin. I'm not interested in anything, or anyone." Mako brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Not so soon after..."

The younger of the brothers looked towards the lump of blanket on the other bed. "You're not still in l-"

"I swear I am going to punch your face in."

Bolin shined a green laser pointer at his brother's neck. "Not without your vegan powers, you don't!" The grin left his face. "No seriously, so what's going on? Korra said you two were done, but still good. Was she lying?"

Mako rolled his eyes. "Kor, lying? Of course not." He looked down at his feet. "I dunno. Like, we're on good terms and all, but I feel there may be something still there. Like if we had another chance..." Mako rubbed the back of his neck (a habit he knew he shared with Korra) nervously. "Maybe things would be better. We're still young. There's time."

Bolin stood up and turned towards Mako. "Dude, I love you and totally respect what you're saying, but trust me. This path does not end well. Don't fret over love lost. There are roads laid out right in front of you that you're too afraid to walk down or too dumb to even see."

"Said the pot to the kettle."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it," Mako recovered. "Anyways, can we just let me be Mako for a while? Like, let go of this whole ' we must find Mako true love' crusade and let me figure out who I am first?"

Bolin tutted and turned to look out the window. "Sure, whatever. Your call, man. Don't say I didn't try to help."

Asami stepped out of the bathroom. She had on a military-style button-up on top of a striped off-white long-sleeve shirt with blue cuffs. This went with a skirt that matched the button-up, black leggings, and a pair of brown boots. She wore a blue wig and was holding an oversized hammer in one hand.[2]

"We ready to head out?"

Bolin walked over to where Mako was sitting. He nudged the boy in the white wig. "Dude," Bolin whispered. "You're staring."

Asami grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1][Reference picture](http://i.imgur.com/aobaba4.jpg) of Todd the Vegan. [Reference gif](http://i.imgur.com/mnJcvMz.gif) of the Vegan Police.  
> [2] This is [Ramona Flowers](http://i.imgur.com/KJHaFxS.jpg).
> 
> I didn't mean to get this chapter out so soon. Well, what can you do?
> 
> Any feedback is appreciated!


	4. Interview with a Sato

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Krew gets to know Asami. Asami gets to know the Krew.
> 
> Basically, bonding and stories until the story starts in earnest.

"So Asami, what's your life story?"

The girl laughed at Bolin's question. "Straight to the point, are we?"

The boy shrugged. "I mean, you've got in pretty good with our sleeping beauty upstairs, which basically means you're one of us now. So we need to catch up." He ran out ahead of the group and started walking backwards, his hand now holding his cell phone. A bright flash indicated the camera was on.

"Up next," Bolin announced in a respectable TV announcer voice, "the story of Asami Flowers so far, a riveting tale spanning um... eighteen? Nineteen?"

"Twenty," Asami corrected, a smile on her face.

"Alright," Bolin responded. "Take two. UP NEXT, the story of Old Lady Asami-"

"Hey now!" she laughed.

"And the two decades of riveting scandal, shocking twists, and uncharted dreams that lie within!" Bolin narrated, as he bumped back first into some Attack on Titan cosplayers. "Whoops sorry." He turned back around but held the phone steady in his hand, still facing Asami. He then entered the frame. "Let's start with the basic facts. Ms. Asami, if you would?"

The girl smiled and began idly spinning the prop hammer she had in her right hand.

"Well, I already said how old I am. Umm, my favorite show is Doctor Who followed closely by Ouran High School Host Club. I listen to too much Duran Duran[1] than could possibly be considered healthy, and I'm currently going to UTD and majoring in Engineering."

"Very interesting," Bolin said into the camera. "Quickfire Time! Favorite Doctor?"

"Matt Smith. Obviously."

"First anime crush?"

"Kyoya from Ouran High School Host Club."[2]

"Last time a show made you cry?"

"I watched Vincent and the Doctor again a few days ago. Aaaah the feels!"[3]

"Favorite food?"

"Sashimi."

"First cosplay?"

"Sailor Jupiter."

"What is the most recent thing you've been worrying about?"

"I think the guy that was hitting on Korra last night might be a huge dick."

"Whoa wait, what?" Mako interrupted, a frown on his face. He took a sip of the Dr Pepper in his hand.

 _Oh, hit a nerve there_ , Asami thought, a plan formulating in her head. "I'd elaborate, but this interview isn't about Korra. It's about me. But nooooow," she grabbed the camera from Bolin's hand and turned it to Mako. "It's Mako time. Quick, age?"

"Twenty."

"What are you going to school for?"

"Criminal justice."

"Favorite anime?"

"Cowboy Bebop," Mako answered immediately.

"Favorite band?"

"Linkin Park. Don't judge me."[4]

"Consider yourself judged. First anime crush?"

Mako turned red. "Sailor Jupiter."

"Aaaaaaah. OTP?"

"...Old Dirty Bastard? He was a good rapper, I guess-"[5]

"No, OTP. One True Pairing. Favorite character coupling in a show."

"Oh. Ummmm," Mako pondered a bit. "Spike and Faye?" He took another sip of his soda.

"What's Korra like in the sack?"

And the soda was now coming out of his nose and dripping down his face onto his (regrettably) white t-shirt. "WHAT?!"

"Answer the question, Mako."

"How did... how would I know?" the boy exclaimed, wiping his face off with the back of his hand. "Shit, my shirt is ruined."

"Oh come on bro," Bolin lamented. "You just ruined everything." He turned back to Asami. "But how DID you know?"

The girl in the blue wig giggled. "Korra mentioned last night that she hates being called 'Kor' since her ex called her that. I put two and two together in the hotel room."

"Oh. Well, that's a thing." Mako rubbed the back of his neck.

"So?"

"Um, we never really, uh, _did the do_ ," Mako mumbled as the four showed their badges and entered the Dealer Room.

"Shame," Asami winked. She turned the camera to Bolin and Opal. "YOUR turn."

* * *

  _This is what happens within the next two hours._

Asami learns the following about Bolin:

\- He's eighteen.  
\- He's a hopeless romantic.  
\- Despite being straight, he ships Lelouch and Suzaku in Code Geass. _("GAAAAAAAAAAAY," Mako drones. "THAT'S THE POINT!" Bolin responds harshly.)_[6]  
\- His favorite Disney movie is Treasure Planet. _("I'm judging you so hard right now," Opal sighs.)_  
\- He wants to be a voice actor for Funimation one day.

Asami has her picture taken about thirteen times. There are three confirmed cases of Hover Hand and one confirmed case of the evil second cousin of Hover Hand, Gropey Fingers.

Mako feels like a slob because of the soda nose incident. "Take a look at me now," he grumbles. "There's just an empty space?" Opal responds. The Krew (sans Korra) sings the entirety of Phil Collins' Against All Odds in response.[7]

Mako and Asami take a smoke break. It's nice.

Asami learns the following about Opal:

\- She's also eighteen.  
\- She's a hopeless romantic.  
\- She's not currently crushing on anyone right now. _(Her face turns into a tomato. Asami and Mako knowingly laugh at the obviousness of the situation. Bolin is oblivious.)_  
\- She wants to become an English teacher, preferably at a middle school.  
\- Her favorite anime is Clannad. Subsequently, she's a masochist because she's watched it and the follow-up Clannad After at least once every _three months_ just because.  
\- Her favorite song is Such Great Heights by The Postal Service.

One of the dealers in the dealer room asks for Mako to be arrested by the Bolin and Opal-helmed Vegan Police because he's drinking soda.

"Soda isn't vegan?" Mako asks.  
"Processed sugar is refined with animal bone char," the dealer responds.  
"...Animal bone isn't vegan?" Mako questions.

It takes a few minutes for the dealer to figure out Mako is kidding. Bolin buys a few DBZ figurines out of pity. Five, to be exact. One of Super Saiyan 2 Gohan, Great Saiyaman Gohan, Piccolo, Android 18, and Videl. Mako is disappointed that he was given Great Saiyaman. The opposite could be said of Opal, who got Videl.[8]

* * *

That brings them to the hall outside the dealer room, sitting on the floor eating food truck pizza. At the end of it all, the four have bonded really well - like, REALLY WELL. Asami is surprised to find that in the span of a few hours she's learned to care more for these three than some of her college friends. _Who am I kidding_ , she thinks, _ALL of my college friends_. She finds it hard not to snort into her pizza crust as Bolin regales the tale of Korra and Mako at the Nickelrama arcade in middle school.

"Like, you wouldn't BELIEVE how competitive it got," Bolin says while chewing his slice of pepperoni and cheese. _("Manners, Bolin," Opal tells him. He continues.)_ "They probably spent an hour alone playing DDR." He paused for dramatic effect. "Nonstop."

Opal laughs at the memory, and Asami is dumbfounded. "An HOUR? Like I don't even... how?"

Mako shook his head. "It was a difficult time."

"Oh shut up," Bolin remarks, a little spittle flinging from his mouth onto Mako's forehead (who wiped it off with a napkin and disgust). Asami laughs again. Bolin continues. "Mako here was very obsessed with playing the hardest songs and getting AAA scores. But Korra was like a dance MACHINE. Knee drops and everything."[9]

"You mean like those guys in the shiny black jackets that were super popular on YouTube back in the day?" Asami inquired.

Bolin nodded. He took another bite of his pizza and Mako kept the story going. "The way she played was super flashy, but the step charts weren't super hard. That's the point, really. They were so few and far in-between in comparison that she just did stupid shit the whole time."

"To a DDR purist like Mako," Opal continued, "it was frustrating. But what was more frustrating to him was that she was getting a bigger crowd than he was when she played."

"Difficulty is respect, not entertainment," Mako defended.

"Kids in an arcade aren't there for RESPECT, bro," Bolin emphasizes. "They're there for fun. And Korra was that. Fun."

"SHE BROKE THE MACHINE!" Mako exclaimed.

"She broke the machine?!" repeats Asami.

"Straight up broke it." Bolin confirms.

"Foot through the glass," clarifies Mako.

"RIP in peace DDR machine." Opal laments.

"Korra used to do Tae Kwon Do and her legs were like, stupid strong," explains Bolin. "So yeah, she totally tried to run up the machine and do a backflip during a pause in a song and just..." he imitates the sound of glass shattering. "Straight through the machine. Fell on her ass with only one shoe on."

"That's horrible!"

"Yeaaaaah, and those things are not cheap."

"How did you pay for it?"

"Pay for it?" a voice responded. The four turned around and saw Korra, inexplicably awake and dressed in Asami's Eleventh Doctor outfit. "Fuck that. We ran out the minute it happened. Hi guys! Figured you'd be here."

Everyone waved, as she sat down next to Asami, who immediately poked her. "That's my cosplay!" she pointed out in mock shock.

Korra grinned and grabbed a slice of pizza from Asami's plate. "And that's MY cosplay," she countered. "So consider us even. But yeah. We all just ran out. Without my shoe."

"And we haven't been back since," Mako finished, patting the sides of his mouth with a napkin. "What has you out and about after only 2 hours of sleep?"

"I got restless."

"You are, quite literally, without rest. That's why you were sleeping."

"Pssh, sleep is for the weak," said Asami, who could say as much since she was still running fresh from the day before without falling unconscious.

"Anyways, the point is I'm here now and I'm craving a cigarette." She looked between Mako and Asami. "Smoke break?"

Opal groaned. "You guys and your nicotine."

"Don't knock it til you try it," Korra grinned. The grin dropped. "But seriously, don't try it. You don't want any part of this shit."

Bolin burped. "Well, we're all done with our food so why don't we all just go outside together?"

Opal shrugged. "Sure, why not. What's the worst that could happen?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] Her favorite song by Duran Duran is a tie between Come Undone and Hungry Like the Wolf. UTD is short for University of Texas at Dallas, which was originally a graduate school that ended up becoming a full-fledged under-grad school as well.
> 
> [2]This is [Kyoya.](http://i.imgur.com/rmTQWcg.jpg)
> 
> [3]She may or may not have [this YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubTJI_UphPk) in a YouTube playlist labeled "Feels".
> 
> [4]He actually hates Hybrid Theory and Meteora. His favorite album is A Thousand Suns and his favorite song is The Little Things Give You Away from Minutes to Midnight.
> 
> [5]Old Dirty Bastard is also known as ODB.
> 
> [6]Bolin frequents AO3 and reads Lelouch/Suzaku fics. But only the ones rated G or T.
> 
> [7]Here is [Against All Odds.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_qgSs65-mY) Admittedly, Opal only knows the Postal Service cover of this.
> 
> [8]SPOILER ALERT: Videl ends up marrying Gohan. Poor Opal.
> 
> [9]The [DDR equivalent](https://youtu.be/dRgtz8pWKO0) of Korra.  
> The [DDR equivalent](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U6mGVQ6ZZo) of Mako.
> 
> The bone char thing is unfortunately true. I had to look it up just to be sure.
> 
> So I wasn't sure if I wanted to have you deal with so much dialogue, so I tried to summarize the Dealer Room activities as succinctly as possible. Sorry!
> 
> Any feedback is appreciated, good, bad or otherwise!!


	5. On Stories and Naps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang hangs out for a bit, and we get the first of many flashbacks going into backstory for the Krew.

"What could go wrong, Opal asked." Korra said with a frown, fanning herself with a magazine. "It's all your fault. You jinxed us."

"Hey, I wasn't the one that wanted to go outside!" puffed Opal, who was wiping her face with a towel.

"Calm down, the both of you," Mako sighed. "I don't know what you expected. You knew this was a thing for years now."

Korra muttered under her breath and collapsed on the bed. The thing, as it happens, was that they had gone outside. During the day. In Texas. In July. So of course, they had all but melted like wax candles the minute they stepped outside, their cigarettes acting as wicks to said candles. After nearly ten minutes of near suffering _(during which Asami was asked for like, five more pictures. One of which included Mako, Opal, and Bolin, to their infinite relief)_ , the Krew plus Asami had made it back to their hotel room, where the A/C was blasting the lowest possible temperature.

Mako had changed back into his Spike Spiegel outfit from the day earlier, due to the soda stain on his Todd the Vegan shirt. Opal and Bolin had whined that now their cosplay had literally no context whatsoever, and were currently in heated discussion on whether they should fall back to their Day 1 Cosplays or unleash Day 3 early. Asami refused to wear Korra's 10th Doctor cosplay, which meant Korra couldn't go back out as Ramona ( _to which she was secretly grateful, hating skirts and stockings in general_ ), so they remained in their current costumes.

And now Korra was considering pizza delivery.

"I'm considering ordering pizza," Korra announced to nobody in particular. Bolin's head perked up in interest.

Asami on the other hand, stared at the girl in disbelief. "We literally just ate like 10 minutes ago," She replied back.

"Hey," Korra shot back, pointing a finger at the girl dressed as Ramona Flowers, "YOU guys ate 10 minutes ago. I had like a slice of YOUR pizza and that's it." She rubbed her stomach, which growled on command. "A growing girl's gotta eat."

Asami laughed. "Are you forgetting the _three_ chicken fried steaks you had?"

"Shut it, woman!" Korra growled playfully, throwing a pillow at her newfound friend.

"Wait, three chicken fried steaks?" Opal asked.

"At what time?" Bolin continued.

"Um, yeah, at like five in the morning or so?" Asami answered, wondering why the two were suddenly so serious. She grew even more confused when Bolin walked over to the hotel phone, picked up the receiver and dialed.

"Hello?" the boy spoke. "Yeah, we'd like to order a large stuffed crust pizza. White sauce, extra cheese, pepperoni and sausage and jalapenos. And a 2-liter of whatever soda you have available. Yes, the Hilton Anatole. The room number is 537. Okay, thanks." He hung up and went back to Opal's side to continue the cosplay discussion the two were having.

Asami stared. "Okay, what just happened?"

"They're feeding the beast," Mako sighed, clearly not approving.

Korra shot back into a sitting position, glaring at her ex. "Mako, calling me a BEAST isn't going to earn you any brownie points."

"Always you and food."

"FOOD UNDERSTANDS ME!" Korra shouted in mock (maybe) outrage. "FOOD DOESN'T JUDGE ME, OR TELL ME I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH. FOOD LOVES ME FOR WHO I AM! FOOD ALWAYS SUPPORTS ME NO MATTER WHAT."

"I'm sorry," Asami interrupted. "I still don't understand what's going on."

Bolin shook his head at the bickering ex-couple. "Korra's usual go-to is FOUR chicken fried steaks. I'm assuming you went to Denny's, yeah?" Asami nodded. "Yeah, despite being a literal stick figure-"

Korra pouted, then flexed her arms, no noticeable muscle showing in her thin biceps upon doing so.

"-our girl puts away an alarming amount of food," finished Bolin, who had decided on switching into his Tarzan outfit from the day before. Opal agreed and decided to become Jane once again.

"I mean, watching you eat was ridiculous already," pondered the green-eyed girl. "I don't see how you could put away more."

Korra scoffed. "You have no idea." She turned to Mako. "Wanna tell her?"

Mako sighed. "Korra got kicked out of a CiCi's."[1]

Asami choked on nothing, while Bolin and Opal laughed.

"What?!" the girl finally said, turning to Korra.

The Water Tribe girl shrugged. "Well," she explained, "he's not wrong."

"How did you manage that?" Asami asked.

"I was kinda in there for like, six hours?"

There was palpable silence. "Six hours," Asami deadpanned.

"Six hours."

"In a CiCi's."

"Six hours in a CiCi's," Korra confirmed.

"Eating pizza."

"No, eating salad."

"Really?"

"Yes. No, of course not! Eating pizza."

"You ate pizza for six hours."

"In a CiCi's."

"For six hours."

"I don't see what's so hard to understand about this."

"Oh there's plenty," Asami replied with wide eyes. "I mean, how?"

* * *

 "What do you mean, you've never been to CiCi's?" Mako asked as he put his backpack into his locker.

"I don't see what's so hard to understand about this," Korra replied as she looked at her schedule. "Shit, I've got Aiwei for AP English."

"Really?" Mako said, peeking over Korra's shoulder. "Shit, that sucks. I had a class with him a few years ago. Dude is like a human lie detector. But seriously, never? That sounds surprising considering your appetite, Kor."

The girl sighed as she and Mako began walking to her locker on the opposite side of the hallway. "What's the big deal? I'm not expecting culinary excellence from a place that has all-you-can-eat pizza for $3.99."

"It's not that the pizza is GOOD," Mako explained, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. "It's that the pizza is good ENOUGH to eat endlessly for less than $5."

"Of course YOU'D be frugal with food," Korra muttered. Then she stopped and turned red. "Shit, that was rude. Sorry!"

The boy waved it off. "No worries. Anyways, you have B Lunch, right?"

Korra nodded. "A 45 minute break from dealing with Aiwei," she explained as she began inputting the combination to her locker. "Why do you ask?"

Mako rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well I do too. And Su's letting me use one of her cars so we can get Bolin and Opal to band rehearsal on time each morning." He stared at the back of Korra's head. "I was thinking maybe we could both go get CiCis... together?"

The girl paused her unceremonious chucking of textbooks into the locker. "I like the sound of that," she replied. "So you're planning on de-virginizing me?"

"WHAT?!"

"Of CiCi's," Korra corrected quickly, heat rising to her cheeks as she resumed throwing her books into her locker at a frantic pace. "That's what I meant. Not the other thing. Obviously. That would be silly and weird. Right? Wait, that should be a sentence, not a question. Right. Yeah. Okay. Sounds good." She shut her locker with a bit more force than intended then stood up and turned to face her friend. "It's a date!"

If Mako wasn't already blushing, he would've started. "Is it?"

"Oh, I mean, not like that, like as in an event set in stone. Just two friends, hanging out, nothing romantic or anything," Korra chuckled.

"Right," Mako replied simply. He stood there staring at his childhood friend for a bit too long.

She stared back. "...shouldn't you be heading to JROTC?"[2]

Mako snapped out of his reverie. "Oh, yeah," he commented, taking a casual glance at his wrist to check the time. He realized he didn't actually have a watch on and tried to recover by wiping his brow with his wrist. "So um, see you at B Lunch then!" he replied, saluting.

Korra raised an eyebrow. Mako realized what he was doing and put his hand down. "Ahem," he continued, "as you were." And walked away a bit faster than normal.

* * *

"You two sounded ADORABLE," Asami grinned.

Bolin sighed. "They really weren't."

"The whole unrequited love thing was suuuper awkward to be around," Opal agreed as she adjusted her cosplay hat.

Korra coughed and it sounded very similar to " _potkettleblack_."

"Anyways..." Mako continued.

* * *

"I think I'm in heaven," Korra murmured through a slice of pizza.

Mako laughed as he nudged a piece of cheese bread on his plate. "Told you you'd love it."

The girl was wide-eyed. "What's there not to love?" she asked, chewing in the side of her mouth. "They have pizza with alfredo sauce instead of tomato sauce. ALFREDO SAUCE, MAKO. This is like a religious experience."

"Well, preach on, _Sister Korra_ ," joked Mako. "But I think church service is over for the day. Lunch ends in like 10 minutes and we've gotta get back." He started to stand up.

"Nuh uh," Korra replied, shaking her head furiously. "I'm not going back."

"Come again?"

"Giggity."

"Dude, no. Seriously, it's the first day and you've still got like, two and a half classes left."

"Nope, Mako." Korra insisted, grabbing the cheese bread from her friend's plate. "I haven't even had a whole class with Aiwei and I'm already done with him. I'm staying here. And I'm never leaving."

"But y-"

"Here are your options," the girl interrupted, as she took a sip of her fountain drink. "Option 1: You leave quietly and head back to class like a good little boy."

Mako sighed. "And Option 2?"

The sip transformed into a slurp. Korra released the straw from her lips. "Option 2: You try to take me out of this haven, I punch you in the dick. Then you leave quietly and head back to class like a good little girl."

His eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't," Mako challenged.

Without another word, Korra jabbed.

* * *

 

"...and then Mako left like a pussy and I stayed in heaven for another 5 hours," Korra finished.

Asami stared. "So you got full?"

"Oh hell no," replied Korra. "The manager came up to me at that time and was like," the girl straightened her back and set her face to some facsimile of an angry face. " _Ma'am, you've been here for 6 hours. We've been making pizza specifically for you for 4 hours. I'm sorry, we're out of alfredo sauce. We don't even have enough for the pasta. I'm going to have to ask you to leave._ "

The girl with emerald-colored eyes began laughing. "That's the most bullshit bullshit I've ever heard bullshit," she commented. "And you believed him?"

Korra nodded. "Dude, I had been eating for 6 hours. Logic was no longer a resident of my brain. So I just told him to give me an hour to digest my food and I'd walk away peacefully."

"That's a load of horsecrap," Asami insisted. "No way that's true."

"It's so true," Korra countered.

"She's right," Bolin confirmed as he stepped out of the bathroom, fully changed into Tarzan attire. "We went back there the next weekend. The manager had Korra's face plastered on the employee notice board with an order to refuse service."

"NO WAY," roared Asami, who resumed her laughing from earlier. "I call shenanigans."

"You'll find no shenannery here," Opal replied. "As of like, two months ago, the notice was still there. You can come with us some time and we'll show you."

Korra looked rueful. "For nearly half a decade, I've been locked out of heaven."

"For too loooooong," Mako finished, before getting a pillow thrown at his face.[3]

"Shut it, Bruno Mako," Bolin said, heading for the door. "Anyways, Opal and I are gonna go mingle with the commonfolk." He turned to the girl dressed as Jane Porter and held out his arm. "M'lady?"

Opal remained unmoved. "Get in character," she commanded.

Bolin raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay." He hunched down and looked up. "Jane, go with me?" Bolin spoke slowly.

The girl giggled. "That's the manbeast I know and love." She opened the hotel door. "Come Tarzan," she spoke in an English accent, "we depart for the civilized world." The two exitted the room, leaving Mako, Asami and Korra to their own devices.

"Um, I should probably make sure they don't get into too much trouble," Mako explained. "Call us when Kor is done with the pizza and we can get together." He made his way out the door as well.

Asami fell back into the bed. "Alone at last," she murmured.

"What?"

"Oh right, you're here," Asami joked. "I was talking to the bed," she clarified as she wrapped her arms around two pillows and pulled them to her body.

Korra snorted. "I thought sleep was for the weak."

"It is," mumbled the other girl into the pillow. "But the strong can partake too, every once in a while."

"Excuse excuses," chided Korra. She stood up and threw the comforter on top of the girl, who hummed in appreciation. Then there was a knock on the door. "Pizza!" She exclaimed.

Upon paying for the box of Italian deliciousness, Korra opened the box and began digging in, making her way to the other bed to sit. "You want some, 'Sami?" she asked with a full mouth.

Asami said nothing, eyes closed and lightly breathing.

"Asami?" Korra repeated, standing up with a slice in her hand, leaning over to Asami's face. "Helloooooooooo, earth to Salamiiiiii, come in Salami." Korra waved the slice in Asami's face.

No response. Korra chuckled, and sat back down and resumed eating. She was two slices in when a phone began vibrating on the nightstand. The name ' _Hiroshi_ ' showed up on the screen. "Hey Asami, this your phone?"

Silence. "Great, now I'm talking to myself." Respectfully, Korra let the phone continue vibrating until it went to voicemail. Then it began vibrating again. This happened a few more times before Korra got irritated enough to pick up the phone.

"Hello Hiroshi," she started, "you've reached Asami's phone. She is currently sleeping soundly and does not want to be disturbed. Please kindly fuck off and leave a message."

The voice on the other line was stern, tired, and a little snappy. " _Who in the blue hell is this?_ " the male voice replied. " _This is Asami's father, and I demand to know where my daughter is._ "

Korra paled. "Oh. Um, I mean, uh... wrong number? Sorry." She fumbled to hang up the call, hearing the angry sound of Hiroshi's voice through the speaker. Korra finally hit the button and placed the phone back down on the nightstand.

"Well, this is gonna get awkward real fast," Korra said aloud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] CiCi's is a restaurant chain that advertises all-you-can-eat pizza, low prices, and bad decisions.
> 
> [2]JROTC stands for Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
> 
> [3]Mako is referencing the 2012 hit song [Locked Out of Heaven](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-fA-gBCkj0) by Bruno Mars.
> 
> So there's maybe two more chapters at this convention before the Krew have to get back to real life. I just feel like this weekend is a really great way to kinda flesh out the characters, and I hope you think so too!
> 
> Also yeah, Korra at this point in time is very much a super skinny girl. More on that later.
> 
> Again, any feedback is appreciated and thank you for reading!


	6. Panic Assessment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short update-ish. Korra assesses whether she has permission to panic.

Korra paced back and forth, wringing her hands and staring at Asami's phone, which was currently turned off. After she had hung up on Asami's DAD, he began calling again until Korra finally went ' _fuck it_ ,' in her head and switched the phone off.

 _Should I wake her up? I think she should know that her dad is looking for her_ , Korra reasoned to herself. She looked at the sleeping girl cuddling with her pillows and shook her head. _No_ , thought Korra, _not right now. She hasn't slept in at least a day._

So maybe Korra was panicking. Just a little.

 _I mean, do I have any reason to panic?_ Korra ceased her pacing for a moment.

 _Alright Korra_ , she told herself, mentally stretching. _Let's break this down:_

  1. _Asami's dad is named Hiroshi._
  2. _The fact that her dad is listed as 'Hiroshi' and not 'Dad' on her phone says something about their relationship. (Additional note to self: Feel feelings about this after panic assessment)_
  3. _Further evidence of a bad relationship in that Hiroshi didn't know that Asami was at an anime convention._
  4. _Then you bitched him out. (Addional note to self: You're stupid)_
  5. _He has called over 15 times in the last 5 minutes, not counting the 2 minutes where the phone was turned off._
  6. _Does this mean she lives at home?_
  7. _Does he know she smokes?_
  8. _Also, drinks underage?_
  9. _Also also, dress up as random characters from television shows?_
  10. _So she lives at home with an overbearing dad who she dislikes/hates so much that she doesn't even call him dad. What could he have done to... **no**. Stop Korra. Those are horrible thoughts and way to assume morally evil things about a guy you've never actually met before._
  11. _If THAT is the reason why, I swear to God I will kill him._
  12. _...I wonder if I can look him up on the internet._



Korra pulled out her phone and brought up Google. She typed in 'Hiroshi' before realizing she didn't have a last name. The girl silently cursed and started clearing the search field, before noting that autocomplete had filled it out to... _oh no_.

**'Hiroshi Sato'**

"No. Nooo. Noooo way. That can't... no."

 _Hiroshi couldn't possibly be THAT Hiroshi, right? I mean, that's silly_ , Korra subvocalized, looking again at the girl asleep on the bed. Asleep on the bed next to her purse. Asleep on the bed next to her purse that should have a driver's license.

Korra bit her lip and stared at the purse for a minute or so, contemplating.

_I mean, I'm already in deep, right? Cussed out a multi-millionaire CEO and genius, underage drinking, what could very easily look like attempted kidnapping to said multi-millionaire CEO... what's a little breach of personal space and information between friends? Right? Right?!_

Korra was screwed.

She gently climbed up onto the bed next to Asami. As luck would have it, the possible first-class citizen of the world was sleeping in the corner, nearly flush with the wall.

 _And of course_ , Korra grimaced, _that's where her purse is. Wedged between the small of her neck and the wall. Welp._

The Water Tribe girl silently reached over Asami's sleeping body for the purse. She was short by a few inches. The inner-Bolin of her mind made a joke about Korra being short and she mentally punched it. Sticking out her tongue in concentration, Korra brought herself closer to Schrödinger's Heiress[1] and reached again for the purse. Still shy an inch. _Crap_.

 _You know_ , Korra idly thought, _this situation would be very awkward to walk in on_. Her eyes narrowed. _Or wake up to_.

And as if on cue, Asami emitted a groggy moan. Korra froze even more than she was already, not daring to take a breath. The sleeping girl underneath her ( _Oh. My. God_ , Korra thought) had not opened her eyes, but instead had unconsciously adjusted herself to the new body heat and snuggled a bit closer to Korra's knee.

The tanned girl remained still for another minute, to confirm that her friend was still, in fact, asleep. The sixty seconds or so passed, and Korra reached again for the purse. This time though, she figured she'd be able to reach further if she had her left arm to support herself for the lean. So she did just that, planting her hand to the left of Asami's head and leaned in again. Her fingers felt leather and Korra breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Asami adjusted again.

Korra, of course, froze. As she held her breath again, the girl could hear the Mission Impossible theme song playing in her head.[2] She counted to sixty, then exhaled. _Crisis averted again, Agent King_.[3]

As she thought this, her head lowered in relief and Korra realized she was a few inches from Asami's nose. _Okay_ , Korra thought to herself. _Head up. Don't breath on her nose. That'd be weird_. She began unzipping the purse, each tooth of the zipper making an infuriating loud zipping noise as she did so. After what felt like an eternity, Korra reached into the purse and pulled out a wallet. Sweat had formed at her brow as, one-handed, she opened the wallet up and read the name on Asami's driver's license.

**'Asami Sato'**

_Fuck_.

All pretense was out the window now. Korra closed the wallet with a snap and quickly put the item back in the purse, not even bothering to zip it back up. She jumped off the bed and quickly walked to the restroom, locked it, then sat down in the bath tub.

"Okay," she whispered to herself. "So your new friend is the daughter of the founder and CEO of Sato Motor Company. No big deal. It's not like she's some prissy, stuck-up bitch or anything. Far from it, she's probably one of the nicest girls you've ever met not named Opal. Her dad, on the other hand..."

Korra paled as she went back through her panic list.

 _Yeaaaaah_ , a voice in her head drawled, _you totally told one of the most powerful, smartest men in Corporate America, hell, Corporate Earth to fuck off just now. A+_. _Bravo. Standing ovation._

Korra thought back to Asami's phone, sitting silent on the nightstand. _Cell phones have GPS, right?_

_Wait, didn't SMC sign a deal with the government to produce SatoDrones?_

Korra heard a helicopter pass by. She jumped up and ran out of the bathroom, headed straight for the window. She looked out for a moment before closing the curtains. _No_ , she thought. _He wouldn't go so far. Would he?_

_Well I dunno, dufus. He did call like 15 times in a row for 5 minutes straight._

She heard the helicopter again and this time, there was an audible (if tiny) shriek coming out of Korra's mouth. She quickly grabbed the comforter and ran back into the bathroom, double and triple-checking to make sure it was locked. Korra got back into the bathtub, comforter wrapped around her like a robe. She buried her head in the soft material and groaned.

 _So Hiroshi Sato's out to kill me_ , she thought, afraid to even whisper now. _That's totally happening. Panic mode activated._

 _Oh be reasonable_ , the more logical voice in her head replied back. _You turned Asami's phone off. He doesn't know your number. He has no way of finding you._

There was a loud knock on the door to the hotel room. Silence. Another loud knock. Then, the sound of a phone vibrating against wood.

 _Okay_ , the logical voice corrected, somehow getting timid. _You have my permission to panic._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] Click [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat) to learn more about Erwin Schrödinger's thought experiment. In short, Korra's thought process is a modification of the thought experiment regarding quantum mechanics. That is to say, until Korra actually checks and confirms, Asami is considered both the heiress to the Sato fortune and NOT the heiress to the Sato fortune.
> 
> [2]Here's the [Mission Impossible theme song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAYhNHhxN0A), in case you don't already know it.
> 
> [3]Korra's last name is in fact King. There's a story to this that will be touched on/addressed later.
> 
> So a couple of non-footnote things:
> 
> 1\. Some of you may know me from A Funny Thing Happened At The Sato House. If you're a carry-over from that fic, thanks for checking this one out!
> 
> 2\. Also, be wary that while kinda similar at the beginning, It All Started with a Cosplay will be tonally, VERY different, from storytelling to mood. Be prepared for angst. Angst will happen.
> 
> 3\. Also also, AFTHATSH is still being written. It has not been abandoned, and the same goes for my other less-popular ongoings. I have an end goal in mind for AFTHATSH which would take 3-4 more chapters, but if you haven't noticed, my mind has been irrationally focused on this fic.
> 
> 4\. I'm not exactly satisfied with the name of this fic currently. If you have any ideas, throw'em my way!
> 
> 5\. And of course, thanks for reading and feel free to leave any feedback! Both actions are much appreciated.


	7. Bathtub Therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami wakes up.
> 
> Slight trigger warning: suicide.

When Asami awoke, she was alone.

And by alone, she realized it means ALONE. No Korra around. As she opened her eyes, she took in her surroundings. The comforter on the other bed was missing, and the Pizza Hut box that Bolin had ordered for Korra was open on the nightstand, two and a half slices still inside. Asami's phone was off, presumably from running out of battery. She made a note to grab her charger from the car later.

"Korra?" Asami called out.

The sounds of silence answered her. "Hello darkness, my old friend," Asami murmured.[1] She stood up from the bed, yawning and stretching as she did so. As she did so, the girl noticed another phone on the nightstand. _Korra's?_ Asami reached to activate it and saw that there were several missed calls from Mako.

_Maybe that's where Korra is? Although I don't think she'd be absent-minded enough to leave her phone here._

Putting that aside, Asami went and dug into the leftover pizza, chugging the 2-liter of soda that sat unopened on the bed. Korra still wasn't back by the time the remaining slices were finished. Satisfied nobody was there, Asami let out a satisfying belch. It was nice to just let up and relax, and not have to deal with the expectations of her professors, classmates, and, ugh, _father_.

But relaxation aside, her hands were still greasy. So Asami got up and made her way to the bathroom sink. The door was closed, and the girl decided it was okay to open the door with her greasy hands.

A jiggle of the handle and it was clear the door was locked. _Has Korra been in there the whole time?_

Asami knocked gently. "Korra?" she asked tentatively. "Are you in there?"

Once again, silence. _Was something wrong? I mean, obviously she's in there. The door's locked, after all. But why isn't she answering?_

Asami thought over her options. She could knock down the door, sure. But on the off-chance that Korra was just a silent um, restroom user, the awkwardness levels would be extremely high.

_Why else would she be in there?_

Asami didn't hear the water running in either the sink or the bath. Really, there was no sound at all.

She's either asleep (that'd explain the comforter being gone) or... a morbid thought entered Asami's head.

Well, shit. That'd explain the comforter being gone.

 _Not again_ , Asami thought, as she escalated to pounding on the door. "Korra! Open up!"

No response. "I swear to God, Gallifrey, and all that is holy in the world, you better not have done something stupid in there!"[2] She continued pounding on the door. _No response. No wait. Was that a sniffle? I think that was a sniffle._

_Okay, fuck it._

Asami walked over to the wall opposite the door and turned around. She took a deep breath, hopped a few times to get some energy in her legs and sprinted towards the door, turning to get her shoulder in position to knock the door down.

* * *

When Korra awoke, it was to a loud crash immediately to her right.

She immediately took cover underneath the duvet, screaming "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! Please don't kill me!"

From inside the safety of her blanket, Korra could hear the panting of heavy breathing. Then, a voice.

"Korra, why would I kill you?"

_Asami._

The girl leapt out from the tub, hugging the heiress with a sob. "I'm so sorry Asami, I didn't mean to, just tell your dad that I didn't know and I was grumpy and I didn't kidnap you or anything, we just MET and-"

Asami pat Korra on the shoulder. "Hey hey," she murmured gently. "Calm down. Breathe. Take some deep breaths for me, 'kay?"

Korra did as she was told. It started out as panicked gasps for air, and after a minute had slowed down to legitimate deep breaths. She felt more calm, and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Okay," she finally said. "I'm better. Thanks." She looked down. "Sorry I got tears on your cosplay."

An eyebrow arched up. "This is your cosplay, remember?"

Korra chuckled. "No, I meant YOUR cosplay." She gestured down at the Eleventh Doctor cosplay. The top of the button-up was slightly damp from the salty water droplets.

Asami brushed it off with a scoff. "Oh, don't worry about that," she replied, separating from the minutes-long hug that had just occurred. "I got that on sale at Goodwill for like, $5." Her eyes narrowed. "You wanna tell me what happened to get you all freaked out?" Asami gestured vaguely. "I kinda knocked open a door to get to you, I think I deserve that much."

Korra looked down and nodded. She sat back down in the tub and wrapped the comforter around her body again. Asami joined her in the tub at the opposite end, knees pulled up to her chest due to lack of space.

"So um, when you fell asleep," Korra started hesitantly, "your phone started vibrating like crazy. Like, several missed calls in a row. And so, I picked it up and told the guy on the other line that you were asleep and um," she looked down, her cheeks turning red, "kinda told him to fuck off."

Asami sat there silent. Korra took another calming breath and continued.

"So turns out it was your dad, which I TOTALLY didn't know because, you know, your phone doesn't say 'Dad' when he calls. Just 'Hiroshi'. Then I hung up on him. He kept on calling after that so I turned off your phone."

"Oh, so I still have battery," Asami spoke. "Well that's good."

"Anyways, I was kinda assessing at what level I should panic and started going through things in my head when I had the great idea of Googling your dad." Korra looked up at Asami's green eyes. "I got the name Hiroshi Sato."

The girl opposite Korra's eyes widened for half a second before narrowing down. "Hiroshi's a common name," she explained. "You could be mistaken."

Korra's cheeks reddened even more. "I MIGHT have snuck into your purse and checked your driver's license."

 _Oh_ , thought Asami. "Well, that was certainly a breach in privacy. I should have you sued."

The Water Tribe girl tensed up. "No, I said I didn't mean to-"

Asami laughed. "It was a joke, Korra."

"Oh," Korra responded, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well in any case, I started thinking about what I knew about Sato Motors. Stuff I'd read, things my dad told me. Like how your phone is a SatoPhone and probably had GPS, and that deal with the Government to produce military drones and I freaked."

Asami eyed the girl. "So," she said slowly, "you thought my dad had tracked my phone and was sending drones to, what? Kill you?"

Korra glared. "Well when you put it THAT way it sounds stupid," she countered. "But I heard helicopters pass by, and your phone started vibrating while I had holed myself up here-"

"My phone is still powered off," Asami interrupted, holding her phone up and indicating the black screen. "It was your phone. Incidentally, Mako's been calling you."

"But then there was a knocking on the door of the hotel room-"

"Again, Mako's been calling you. He might have left his room key up here or something."

Korra remained silent, biting her lip - well, lightly chewing on it - in contemplation.

"Face it, you kinda overreacted," Asami said lightly, nudging her foot at Korra's knee.

"Yeah?" Korra finally responded, taking in her surroundings. "Well you knocked down a DOOR to get in here. What were YOU thinking?"

Now it was Asami's turn to turn warm at the cheeks. She fiddled at the edge of the comforter in her hands. "I, uh, well I was afraid you went in here to kill yourself."

Instead of the chuckle Asami had expected in response to the overreaction, Korra's eyes darkened. "Who told you?"

"Nobody told me anything," the heiress responded. _Wait. What._ "Wait, you don't mean-"

Korra had hidden underneath the covers once again. "Korra," Asami said sharply. "Korra!" She nudged the girl with her foot again. "KORRA!"

"If you don't want to be friends with me anymore," the girl murmured, muffled by the duvet, "I understand."

"No," Asami plainly refused. "I'm still your friend. And don't you fucking dare. Not while I'm around." _Maybe this time I can help,_ she thought.

"Why would you care?" Korra said coldly.

Asami pushed at Korra's knee again. "Because you're fucking cool and we have a littany of hijinks and adventures in our future," she responded, then in more quiet tones, "Not to mention you guys are the first real friends I've had in a while." _Not since..._

Korra had mumbled something, too quiet for Asami to hear. "Come again?"

"Giggity?"

Asami snorted. "No, dummy, what did you say?"

Korra peeked out from under the covers. "My back hurts," she said meekly.

Asami laughed again. "Well you've been sleeping in a bathtub," she reasoned. "That's entirely your fault." She stood up, extending a hand to the girl. "Come on, let's get you in a proper bed."

Korra looked up and grasped the hand. Asami pulled her up and dusted her off. Korra looked around the bathroom again. "Shit, this is gonna cost an arm and a leg."

Asami stepped out of the tub and giggled. "Don't worry," she said reassuringly. "I'll take care of it."

The Water Tribe girl paled once again. "I'm sorry for looking in your purse," she apologized. "I know you probably didn't want to tell anyone."

"It's okay. You were my friend long before you knew who I was."

Korra cocked her head to the side. "I've known you for less than 24 hours."

Asami chuckled. "Po-tay-toe, po-Tahno," she quipped with a wink. "C'mon, mattresses await us."

The two went back into the main area of the hotel room, and jumped into their corresponding beds. As Asami grabbed for the pillows she had been snuggling with earlier, she paused. "Should we call Mako and see what's going on?"

She was answered by a loud snore. Asami turned to the other bed and saw Korra had, in record time, gone back to sleep. _Sure,_ she thought with a smirk. _NOW you snore. Would've been helpful ten minutes ago._

Rather than go back to sleep, Asami decided to prop her back up against the wall and stare at her phone. For a moment she considered leaving it be, but decided she'd have to deal with it sooner or later.

She turned her phone back on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] Asami is referencing the song [Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fWyzwo1xg0).
> 
> [2]Gallifrey is the name of the home planet of the Time Lords in Doctor Who.
> 
> Here, have some overreaction mixed with some light angst and hints of backstory! Hope you enjoyed it! As always, feedback and the like are much appreciated.


	8. Local Multiplayer Matchmaking

_"...I am just looking out for your best interests, Asami."_

"And what? Suffocating me and not allowing me to make my own decisions in life is what's best for me?" Asami spoke into her phone sharply.

_"Honey, you know that-"_

The heiress barked out a bitter laugh. "Oh, you lost the right to call me that a LONG time ago. Now is there anything else before I end the call?"

She could feel the venom seething on the other side of the line. _"Asami, I am your father. I will not tolerate this kind of disrespect from my own flesh and blood."_

"You don't need to keep reminding me of our genetic relationship, _Hiroshi_ ," Asami droned, her eyes rolling. "And maybe you'd like it better if you just cut me from this flesh and blood bond you seem so ashamed of."

_"You would be nothing,"_ warned Hiroshi, _"NOTHING without me. You would have nothing without me."_

"But the fact of that matter is I don't have 'nothing'," Asami countered, using her free hand to mime the quotes she had emphasized in her comment. "I have a brain. I have ideas. I have clout with a lot of influential people that, yes, you introduced me to. I'll get by. And how would the press like that, huh? I can see it now. Breaking News! Hitherto unknown heiress to the Sato Motor Company now working for, oh, CC? It'd be the story of the year."[1]

_"You wouldn't dare."_

"You raised me," she challenged, an eyebrow rising. "Or so you claim. Would I dare? Seriously think about it."

Silence answered.

"That's what I thought. Goodbye, Hiroshi." Asami hung up the phone and with a sigh, sat down on the bed.

"That seemed... intense."

Asami's neck popped with the ferocity in which she turned toward the voice. Korra was still face down on the bed, covers over most of her body. The (possibly former) heiress paled. "Um... you heard that?"

"Only the stuff from about when you were yelling about suffocation and intolerance or something."

Asami sighed. "So, all of it, huh."

Korra slowly rose from her position on the bed. "Yeah, I guess." She yawned and rubbed at the top of her head, her short hair sticking up at odd angles. "So, call me a mind reader," the girl said slowly, "but I have this sneaking suspicion that you and your dad don't really get along."

The ludicrousness of the comment made Asami snort and laugh harshly. It continued for a bit, until finally Korra couldn't keep it in either. The two laughed for several minutes, tears falling down their cheeks unabashedly. As it died down, Korra's face set into a serious look, her head cocked slightly to the side.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Asami shook her head. "Not really, no."

"Okay," Korra replied, shrugging. She began kicking her feet back and forth. "Well, you know if you ever want to, I'm all ears."

The green-eyed girl nodded. "You too, you know."

Korra closed her eyes momentarily, taking the sentence in at length. She knew what Asami was talking about, but like her friend, it wasn't really the time or place. "Thanks."

Asami hummed in response. The two sat in silence for a bit, before Asami spoke again. "So," she started, elongating the 'o'. "For having only known you for what, a little under a day, I've learned quite a bit about you."

"Ha. Yeah. Kinda weird, actually. Glad it isn't awkward though," Korra responded with a smile.

Asami smiled back.

The silence afterwards was, despite Korra's comment, somewhat awkward.

"What's your last name?" asked Asami.

"Huh?"

"Well, you know my last name," Asami reasoned. "Seems only fair that I get to know yours."

"Ah," replied the Water Tribe girl, who fell from her sitting position back to lay on the bed. "King. Korra King."

"Korra King," the Sato girl repeated. "I like the alliteration."

"Thanks. It's actually a shortened name. My last name was supposed to be, ugh, Kinguyakkii," Korra explained, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "It means Northern Lights in Inuit. Luckily, my parents were more sane than usual and decided to give me the name King instead." She laughed. "Mom always said it was because she was tired of being called Senna Teriyaki."[1]

Asami smiled at that, but it didn't reach her eyes. Korra noticed, then remembered the article about Hiroshi's rise to success. Including his wife and her inevitable fate. _Better change the subject._ "Interesting fact: my middle name was almost Kya. Before my parents had come to their senses, that is."

The heiress looked confused. "I like that name, why wouldn-" she stopped. "Oooooh. Wow. That would've been fucked up," Asami giggled.

Korra laughed. "Yeah. Imagine, this little chubby brown butt running around with the initials KKK. Things would've escalated VERY quickly."

"Which seems to be an ongoing thing with you," Asami noted. "And speaking of that, we should probably find Mako and the couple."

"Right," Korra nodded, then broke into a grin. "So it's pretty obvious with those two, huh?"

It was Asami's turn to laugh. "Yeah, as obvious as a beached whale at a nudist beach," she confirmed.

Korra got out of bed and stretched. "Well, let's go find them and I'll let you in on the little betting pool Mako and I have going. It's called In Defense of the Damned Dense Dufus Duo: The Depths of Dumb Denial Deserve Devoted Derision."[3]

"That's... a lot of D."

"That's what she said," Korra smirked. "C'mon, let's go find the losers."

* * *

 

"Okay, and this pool has been increasing every month since WHEN?"

Korra thought for a bit as they waited for an elevator. "About when Bolin and my cousin broke up so like, 2 years?"

"And it's only you and Mako in it so far.So you've got nearly $500 in this pool, don't you?" Asami quickly calculated.

"I guess," Korra replied. "So, are you in?"

"Not quite yet," she responded. "Any ground rules?"

"Yeah. First, you can't straight up tell them yourself. That invalidates your betting status and you're no longer in the running for the pot. Two, your bet can't overlap anyone else's bet. Three, your bet cannot be longer than one month in length. Four, any and all bet changes must be made with all betting parties present and accounted for."

"Okay," Asami said, jamming her finger on the "down" button for the elevators. "Damn, this is taking forever. What are your current bets?"

"Mako's got September, the month of Bolin's birthday. I've got October for Halloween. Sooooo are you in?"

Asami stared at Korra for a bit. "You should change your bet,"

"Huh?"

The notification for the elevator rang, and the two girls started walking to the middle elevator.

"Change your bet to this month. And I want half."

"What are you talki-"

"KORRA!" Bolin yelled as he barrelled out of the elevator, Opal and Mako walking out at a much more manageable pace behind him. The shirtless cosplay lifted his friend up in the air in a bearhug. "We thought you were dead!"

Korra looked at Asami pointedly, then smiled to her friend. "Nope, just asleep. We were just about to look for you guys."

"Yeah. Idiot Mako over here forgot a room key, so we were locked out," Bolin said as he put Korra down on the floor, slightly breathless from the rush of activity.

Korra chuckled. "Yeah, and we have it for you," she replied, pulling a room key out of her pocket. "Don't lose it, dork."

"Speaking of dorks and idiot Mako," Asami interjected, "Korra I believe you have something to say to Mako."

"I do?" Korra questioned, looking at Mako, who had turned red for some reason. Then her eyes brightened. "Oh, I do! Umm, I'm changing my bet."

Mako's eyes narrowed. "To what?"

"This month."

"This month?" Mako asked skeptically.

"This month."

Opal looked back and forth between the two. "What's this month?"

Asami stepped forward with a grin on her face. "This month," she started, "is the day you two idiots," pointing at Bolin and Opal, "figure out that you're totally into each other and have been flirting with each other FOREVER and are just too oblivious to figure it out."

Mako and Korra stood there gaping. Bolin and Opal had turned to look at each other in shock, then began nervously laughing before trying to speak in tandem.

"Oh we're just friends-"  
"She's just really nice and-"  
"He's definitely not into me-"  
"She sees me like a brother and-"  
"He could do so much bet - wait, no I don't!"  
"It would just be weird if - wait, you don't?"

All five stood in silence, save Asami, who was holding back a laugh at the display.

Bolin stared at Opal.

Opal stared at Bolin.

"So, you like me?" she ventured to ask, her eyes wide.

"I mean, yeah," Bolin replied sheepishly.

"Since when?"

Bolin turned red at the cheeks. "Since we were like, 10?"

"THAT LONG?!"

"Well obviously," Bolin shot back, rolling his eyes. "Your family took us in after our parents died and you were the only one my age growing up. And you've kinda always been there for us and I thought it'd be weird since-"

Opal flung her arms over Bolin's shoulders and pressed her lips against Bolin's. Bolin froze in shock, before relaxing and leaning into the kiss. Korra whooped at the sight. Asami smiled. Mako scowled, though the sides of his mouth were tugging upwards towards his eyes.

When the two separated, Opal began punching the target of her affection. "Why," _punch_ , "didn't," _punch_ , "you," _punch_ , "tell," _punch_ , "me?!"

"I did try!" Bolin cried out, playfully backing up against the wall. "I asked you out to prom. Twice."

"And you said both times that it was because nobody else accepted your 'promposals'."

"Well," he responded, "I wasn't LYING. I just didn't actually, you know, ask anyone to prom except you," he explained. "I didn't want to seem desperate."

"And Eska?" Opal glared.

Bolin raised his hands up in defense. "I thought you were going out with Wu! Totally not my fault."

"HE WAS GAY!"

"I know that NOW, duh."

"Ugh, this is sickening," Korra joked. "Almost not worth the money I have coming to me."

"What money?" Mako asked. "You disqualified yourself and told them."

"I told them, Mako," Asami corrected. "Which is absolutely in the rules. I never joined your betting pool. And Korra never violated any of your four rules. She wins the pot."

Korra leaned on Asami's shoulder, smirking at Mako. "And Asami here gets half."

"That's not fair," Mako groaned.

"Says the one betting on our love lives!" Bolin exclaimed, interlocking his fingers with Opal's, who turned pink and scooted closer to her kinda sorta probably definitely boyfriend.

"You weren't supposed to know!" Mako shot back.

"Doesn't make it any less fair," Asami defended, stepping forward accusingly.

Mako stepped forward as well. "You're one to talk!"

"Don't hate the player, hate the game," smiled the heiress.

"So you're admitting that you played the game and are thus disqualified from the betting pool, along with Korra."

"An idiom is not an admission of guilt, Mr. Criminal Justice."

"Riiiiiight," Korra interrupted, looking at everyone. "Hate to be the um, UNOFFICIAL fifth wheel here, but can we continue this downstairs? I wanna hit some panels and get food. So starving."

Opal sighed. "Of course you're hungry again."

"So is that a yes?" Korra asked. "Are we good?"

Bolin looked down at Opal's hand clasped in his own, then at Opal's face. "Yeah," he murmured. "We're good."

"Good," Korra replied. "Because these elevators take for-fucking-forever so I'd like to talk about actual FUN stuff before everyone starts making out with each other."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] CC is the shortened name for Cabbage Corp, in case you hadn't figured it out.
> 
> [2][Teriyaki sauce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teriyaki#Teriyaki_sauce) is derived from soy sauce, sugar, honey, and the dreams of the hopeful.
> 
> [3]Korra spent an hour coming up with the name during her Charles Dickens alliteration phase. She really likes writing.
> 
> So first, hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend! I had a great one. It was full of me putting aside time to write this and A Funny Thing Happened At The Sato House and subsequently falling asleep and having no time to write this or AFTHATSH.
> 
> Second, we hit 100 kudos! Holy crap! Thanks so much guys!
> 
> Thirdly, we've got I think one more chapter of the convention to go before everyone resumes their normal lives. We won't be going as 24 as these opening chapters have been (I mean, these 8 chapters are the span of a day), but with weeks or even months passing in the narrative.
> 
> And as always, thank you for reading and sticking around for the ride! Any and all feedback is appreciated, so drop a line even if just to say "hi" or "this is horribly lame, stop it". :)


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